ArticleBone & joint open2021
Virtual exams: has COVID-19 provided the impetus to change assessment methods in medicine?
Article in Bone & joint open, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed.
- Towards a sustainable future in traumatology and orthopaedic surgery. The contribution of « Société Internationale de Chirurgie Orthopédique et Traumatologique » (SICOT).International orthopaedics · 2025Article
- The virtual assessment in dental education: A narrative review.Journal of dental sciences · 2024Review
- Feasibility and Acceptability of Web-Based Structured Oral Examinations for Postgraduate Certification: Mixed Methods Preliminary Evaluation.JMIR formative research · 2024Article
- Virtual Practical Examination for Student Nurse Educators in Health Sciences Education during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Narrative Review.Nursing reports (Pavia, Italy) · 2023Review
- Considering medical students' perception, concerns and needs for e-exam during COVID-19: a promising approach to improve subject specific e-exams.Medical education online · 2022Article
- Advancing neurosurgery education in junior doctors and medical students - A neurosurgery virtual lecture series.Annals of medicine and surgery (2012) · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
aimsThe ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted and delayed medical and surgical examinations where attendance is required in person. Our article aims to outline the validity of online assessment, the range of benefits to both candidate and assessor, and the challenges to its implementation. In addition, we propose pragmatic suggestions for its introduction into medical assessment.
methodsWe reviewed the literature concerning the present status of online medical and surgical assessment to establish the perceived benefits, limitations, and potential problems with this method of assessment.
resultsGlobal experience with online, remote virtual examination has been largely successful with many benefits conferred to the trainee, and both an economic and logistical advantage conferred to the assessor or organization. Advances in online examination software and remote proctoring are overcoming practical caveats including candidate authentication, cheating prevention, cybersecurity, and IT failure.
conclusionVirtual assessment provides benefits to both trainee and assessor in medical and surgical examinations and may also result in cost savings. Virtual assessment is likely to be increasingly used in the post-COVID world and we present recommendations for the continued adoption of virtual examination. It is, however, currently unable to completely replace clinical assessment of trainees. Cite this article:
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.